burdess



2 Sheets -Sheet 1;

(No Model.)

A. BU'RDESS.

VELOGIPEDE.

I Patented Dec. 28, 1886.

INVENTEI UNITED STATES PATENT ADAM BUBDESS, OF COVENTRY, COUNTY OFWVARWVICK, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE POPE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONN.

VELOCIPEDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 355,253, dated December 28, 1886.

Application filed November 4, 1886. Serial No. 217,025. (No model.) Patented in England March 2, 1883, No. 1,124.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ADAM BURDEss, of Goventry, in the county of Warwick, England, have invented certain new and useful Imp rove- 5 ments in Velocipedes,of which the following is a specification, and for which, or for a substantial part thereof, I have obtained British Letters Patent numbered 1,124 of 1883.

My improvements relate more particularly to the mechanisms connected with the handles of tricycles by which the steering-wheel and brake are operated, and in the following specification I have described them as applied in a tricycle for these purposes; but they may be I equally Well applied in other forms of velocipedes, or for other purposes, and in the application of them differences of arrangement, construction, or application may be made without departing from the substance of my invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise form or arrangement of the parts herein shown and described.

Hitherto it has been customary to control the steering-wheel of trioycles and other velocipedes by means of a rack-and-pinion arrangement; but it has been found in practice that much uncertainty is attendant upon this arrangement, and that frequently the vehicle swerves and throws the rider, or causes other inconvenience or accident, on account of momentary inattention or inability to properly control the mechanism. There is also with the rack-and-pinion mechanism for steering a direct communication of jar to the rider,

caused by obstructions to the steering-wheel and a constant tendency of the steering-wheel to be deflected, which requires the hand of the rider to be constantly upon the steering-handle when riding. It has also hitherto been customary to control the brake mechanism in tricycles and similar velocipedes from the other handle by means of levers either connected with the steering-handle itself or with a supplementary brake-handle near one of the handles of the velocipede; and in this construotion, also, there has been found the same difficulty of uncertainty and liability to accident, and also a lack of ability to graduate properly the application of the brake, and the same tendency to immediate release of the I brake upon loosening or removal of the pressure from the handle.

It is the object of my present improvements to correct these objections, and to produce a tricycle with the steering or brake mechanism, or both,'or in the movement of other mechanism connected with the velocipede, in which a graduated, certain, efficient, and suitable action communicated from the main handles or rests for the hands may be obtained, and also in which there shall be more freedom of removal of the hands from the handles, and in which there shall be less shock or vibration, strain, and fatigue to machine and rider in the use of the velocipede. 6

The nature of my improvements will be ap parent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which I with the nearest main driving-wheel removed, and embodying my improvements in one form as applied to thesteering and brake mechanisms, and Fig. 2 shows the same in front end elevation. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 show the details 7 5 of the steering mechanism enlarged, and Fig.

6 shows the details of the brake mechanism.

Similar letters of reference are used to in dicate similar parts in all the figures.

A A are the main drivingwheels, and B is the steering-wheel.

l C C C are three parts of the main frame of the tricycle.

D D are the pedals.

E is the crank-shaft.

F F,ff, and G G are the gear-wheels or mechanism by which the rotation of the crank shaft is communicated to the driving-wheels.

H is a seat for the rider, supported on the seat-arms h h, which are connected with 0 springs I I and the supports K K upon the frame. These supports K K are connected freely at k with the arms h 71-, and'rigidly at k with the main frame, of which they really form a part.

L L are the handles or rests for the hands of the rider, and M M are brackets to support the handles attached to the arms h h,- or, in-

Figure 1 shows in side elevation a-tricycle 7:,

stead of being attached to these arms h 71, they may project from or be attached to the supports K, or any other part of the frame.

' m m are plain lugs or sockets in the brackets M M, through which the handle-rods N N pass, and in which they are held with a free fit, so that they may be caused to revolve therein. The handle-rods N N are held from vertical or longitudinal movements in the sockets m m by means of two small shoulders or annular pieces, at n, fixed thereon, and are threaded with a coarse quick screw-thread or worm at the parts of n 0 O are internally-threaded sleeves or sockets fitting upon the threaded parts of the handle-rods and provided with the studs or lugs 0 o 0 0.

P P are bell-crank levers, having one end, as p, fitted to engage with the threaded socket O, and the other end, as p, fitted to engage by a free joint with the rod R or R. The end 12 of the bell-crank lever I form double-forked-that is, slotted one way to aiford an entrance and a bearing for the threaded sleeve 0, and slotted the other way, or transversely, to receive the studs 0 o,- and this formation and-slotting of the end p allows a slight play of the joints to compensate or allow for the angular movement of the bell-crank lever and the difference of relative position and dis tance between the socket and its studs and the pivot q of the lever.

Q Q are brackets affording pivot-bearings q q for the bell-crank levers, and attached to the supports K K, or they may be attached to some other part of the frame of the machine.

R R are the connecting-rods, B being called a steering-rod, and R a bracket-rod.

S is a lever-arm connected with the steeringhead T and the fork X of the steering-wheel rigidly, and by a. freejoint with the steeringrod R.

U is a rod extending across the tricycle,and having suitable bearings, in which it may partially revolve, and to which is rigidly connected the leverarm V, and this latter is connected by a free joint, 12, with the brake-rod B. To the cross-rod U are also connected at either end the brake-spoons W W, which operate upon the tires or peripheries of the driving-wheelr The operation of my improvements as applied to these forms will be obviously as follows: When the steering-handle Lis revolved or partly revolved, the socket 0 will be raised or depressed upon it by means of the screwthread, and the end 1) of the bell-crank lever Pwill be correspondingly raised or depressed, and the motion, either forward or backward, imparted to the other end, 19, of the bell-crank lever pulling or pushing the steering-rod R, and thus, through the lever-arm S and the steering-head and forks, deflect one way or the other the steering-wheel B, and in like manner the operation of the brake mechanism is effected, the movement backward or forward of the end 19 of the bell-crank lever pulling or pushing the brake-rod B through the leverarm V, and its pivoted connecting-rod U operating the brake-spoons W W, either toward or from the peripheries of the wheels. It is also obvious that either in the steering or in the brake mechanism the motion of the ultimate partsthat is, of either the wheel or the brakespoonmay be graduated to a very slow or a quick motion, and that the position given by the operation to either of the ultimate parts will be retained until the position of the ban- ,dle L is voluntarily changed by the hand of the rider, since the operation of the screw and socket and bell-crank lever as a mechanical device is such that the obstructions or tendencies of deflection offered to the steering-wheel or to the brake will not move the handle-rod or cause any release of the parts. obvious that by simple modifications, obvious to any mechanic, this means of operating the brake may be applied to any other form of brake-as, for instance, that known as the band -brake, operating by the friction of a strap or band upon the periphery of a drum attached to the axle, in which case the move ment of the brake-rod R or the piece n of the bell-crank lever would cause a tightening or loosening action of the strap upon the drum; and it is obvious that other modifications in this device may be made and still use the substance of my invention, which consists in a screw-spindle and ascrew-socket, one of which may revolve and the other move longitudinally, and a bell-crank lever, with suitable connections with each other and with the frame and handle of the machine.

I claim as new and of my invention 1. In combination with a handle and the frame of a velocipede, a device for converting and transmitting a rotary motion of the handleinto a reciprocating motion of another part connected therewith, consisting in a worm and socket and their connections, constructed to operate substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in a velocipede, of a It is also handle and handle-rod, a bracket screwed to the frame and supporting the handle-rod, a means for holding the handle-rod against longitudinal motion while permitting rotary motion, a, traveler-socket with means of resistance to rotary motion and freedom of longitudinal motion, and a bell-crank lever pivoted to the frame or a projection therefrom, and having means of connection at one end with the screw-socket and at the other end with the part to be reciprocally moved, essentially as set forth.

3. In combination with a threaded rod and a. hinged lever to be moved thereby, and their connections, a threaded socket and a doubleforked stop-joint connection between the rod and the lever, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the handle and frame of a velocipede, of a threaded rod or worm and its threaded sleeve, either the worm or its sleeve being held from longitudinal movement, but free to revolve, and the other being held from revolving, but free to move longitudinally, and their suitable connections constructed and combined to convert a rotary movement of the handle or its rod into a reciprocating movement of another part and transmitted to another part of the velocipede mechanism, substantially as set forth.

5. In a velocipede, the combination of a handle and a handle-rod and a supportingbracket attached to the frame, a screw and sleeve, with means of holding either the sleeve or the screw from longitudinal motion and the other from rotary motion, a be1l-crank leverarm, steering head and fork, and steeringwheel, substantially as set forth.

6. In a velocipede, the combination of a handle and a handle-rod and a supportingbracketattached to the frame, a screw and 20 sleeve, with means of holding either the spindle or the screw from longitudinal motion and the other from rotary motion, abell-erank lever pivoted to the frame or a bracket thereon, and a brake-rod and brake. mechanism, substan- 25 tially as set forth.

ADAM BURDESS.

- Witnesses:

E. GARDNER CoLToN,

Tel. Inst. P. A., London. J. FRANCIS BRAME. 

